Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics Laboratory Journal 2005

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Preface

This is the 34th edition of the Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics Annual Report. It describes activities in the Laboratory during the period August 2004 to August 2005. Contributions are listed in alphabetical order by the name of the group leader.

There have been two major changes for staff positions, both of which recognise expanding and importance of research activities developed in Molecular Biophysics. Mark Sansom has moved with his group to the 7^th floor of Biochemistry to found the new Structural Bioinformatics and Computational Biochemistry Unit. He will move, eventually, to the new Biochemistry Building, which is being constructed by replacement of the Old Biochemistry and Walter Bodmer (Genetics) Buildings and which is in part funded by a grant from the Wolfson Foundation for Bioinformatics. Susan Lea has been appointed a University Lecturer in the William Dunn School of Pathology and Tutorial Fellow at Brasenose College from January 2006. She will expand her programme on host pathogen relations and her group will keep in close touch with Molecular Biophysics for structural studies.

As usual there are a number of new exciting structures determined by X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy and by NMR methods. The structural results are combined with biochemical and other approaches to help understand the biology. Some of the new structures are illustrated on the front cover. The efficiency in X-ray structure solution is largely a result of improved crystallisation facilities through our crystallisation robot (Section 10) and the power of synchrotron radiation with greater efficiency at all stages of data collection and structure determination. Most of our data are collected at the ESRF, Grenoble and we are grateful for the great service that they provide. For the future (2007) we look forward to also using the UKs new synchrotron source, the Diamond Light Source, which is located on the Rutherford Appleton site about 20 miles from Oxford. Our in-house X-ray facilities have been enhanced, under the direction of Elspeth Garman and Ed Lowe. The new CCD detector and 4-circle KAPPA diffractometer installed on the Bruker MicroStar X-ray generator has made several projects possible for in-house data collection and at least five structures (to date in the last 6 months) have been solved using sulphur anomalous phasing. Radiation damage has become a major problem with the bright beams of the 3^rd generation synchrotron sources. The work of Elspeth Garman and Robin Owen, using quantitative measurements based on degradation in crystal diffraction quality and structural changes induced by radiation, have established a maximum allowable dose 3.0 x 107 Gy. With Jim McDonnell's work in NMR studies, the commissioning of Professor Ian Campbell's new 950 MHz NMR instrument is eagerly awaited. While in electron microscopy under Catherine Vénien-Bryan our Philips CM120 with its upgrade attachments serves us well for basic studies and we are grateful to friends and colleagues for access to high resolution instruments as the need arises.

This year we have a record number of graduate students (nine) who have been awarded their DPhil degrees. We warmly congratulate them and wish them well in their future careers in science.

I should like to thank Stephen Lee for assembling the report.

L. N. Johnson. February 2006

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